Gary Lewis

The 1981 EVTM is correct - there was no Neutral Safety Switch on the 1981 trucks. First, here's a connectivity check between the red/light blue wire that pulls in the starter relay/solenoid and the ignition switch's connector. And, as you can see, out on the floor with no truck and especially no transmission there's full connectivity just like the 1981 EVTM says there should be on Page 18. And that would not be the case if there was an NSS some place that wasn't connected to the transmission. Second, on the later trucks the connector in the wiring harness that handled the NSS also handled the backup light switch. That connector, C128, is shown in the 1986 EVTM on Page 80 for the backup lamps and Page 30 for the start circuit. That's an 18-pin connector. But, the 1981 just shows a 2-pin C1016 or C1018 connector for the backup lights on Page 46. And here's that connector on Dad's wiring harness: I rest my case.

Chris: That was a dry, but hot, day in Oklahoma's variable September weather. But next year we will order in a cooler, dryer day - just for you. On the layout of the parking lots, plural, and how to get in, to some extent it is a question of safety. If we have the casual observers driving into the lot where we have the "show" trucks, swap meet, and the "vendors" like Tim and Scott we could have some problems. However, if we had the right ropes or cones we could allow the public to come in and stay to the east, meaning the side that Scott's welders were on. But Scott was over there to stay away from the building while people were welding and cutting. And Tim was on the west side so he didn't have the afternoon sun coming under his awning. So we have some constraints, but can review the layout for next year's show. As for the balloons and colored flags, since we now have the banners and signs which will be reused for next year we could think about other things. It would be cool if a Ford dealership wanted to bring some things up to show, do some advertising, and bring the big ballons. So, I just opened up a dialog with Bill Knight Ford, which is where I bought my truck. As for places to sit, awnings, mister, etc, that is already on the must do list. The fifth bullet above says "Shade! An awning with chairs and maybe with a fan and a mister. A place to gather and talk."

Anything can be done - with enough money. But, I need to know more about what your end goal is before answering. I say that because a "new" Bullnose isn't going to compare well with a modern truck. For example, I have Big Blue, which is an F250HD, and it rides roughly even with the sway bars disconnected. Recently I rode in a friends ~2010 F350 and it rode much better. MUCH. Then there's towing. As much fun as Big Blue with the 460 is to drive, if I want to tow I'll do it with my 2015 F150 due to the 3.5L Ecoboost engine. The 2015 F150 is actually rated to tow more than the 1985 F250HD. Now let's talk about who is going to do the work. As Vernon found with Big Blue, finding competent mechanics is difficult. He finally got thoroughly frustrated and gave me the truck and a boat-load full of NOS parts - after he'd put 10's of thousands of dollars into the truck itself, not to mention the loose parts. In fact, he had enough into Big Blue to have purchased a new low-end 2015 F150 - I know because I have the receipts. But he was farming all the work out, and it was being done extremely poorly. However, if you are doing the work and don't expect the comfort and towing capacity of a new truck, then we have a different scenario. So tell us more about your goal or dream and how you'd accomplish it and we can comment on that. Are you going to have a cruiser with power? Going to tow with authority? Drive long distances?

Did you use to make and sell electronic kits in a previous life?

Welcome! Glad the site is helping. I'm in Oklahoma.

Gary, my bet is that this is a cab and chassis truck to start with. A Supercab wheelbase is close but just a tad short, and there were not very many F350 DRW Supercabs. If you notice, the DRW also looks pretty narrow, wheels seem recessed within the flares. This is consistent with the narrower cab and chassis frame. A lot of guys make a DRW with a CnC rear axle, tub the bed and only need to add small off-road style fender flares in the rear instead of the big fiberglass ones. Here is another 10' conversion, look at the rear wheels inside the fenders: Makes sense, Jonathan. Thanks for the explanation. And the narrower rear axle width would make a more friendly truck to park.

Engine *out* is about the only way I'd want to change them. There is close to 800 lbs less weighing down on them (if you count the radiator/coolant, and the Zf being up on a jack) ... and I'll have access to both sides. Makes sense to me. And it is what I expected, but wasn't sure. Keep us posted on the progress.

Will you do the bushings before the engine?

Maybe on a Supercab frame?

Jonathan - Yes, we will get the parts rounded up. Do you have a copy of the master parts catalog? I have an extra, so if you don't email me your address.

Ford wasn't consistent with much of anything. And the master parts catalog, which is what the snippets on my site are from, has contradictions within itself. So I wasn't trying to make a case or say you are wrong. Or that the brochure is wrong. In fact, I'm not sure what I was saying.

Gary, there were a number of things that we planned and did not get to, such as your lift extension! The two days (more like 1.25 days) went so fast and we were pretty spent after unloading the engine and getting Dad's truck back in the shop! Taden, as far as what I have available I will have to check into it this weekend. I want to say that I have everything since I am converting away from slide locks, however the slide locks themselves are missing and I really don't know what is inside the doors yet since I have not removed the panels. The thing I worry about is if a previous owner might have removed/discarded any of the rods that connected to the sliders because of rattling or interference with the window regulator etc., give me the weekend to see what is in there. You are more than welcome to whatever I have. Jonathan - Together we should have everything. I'll check tomorrow afternoon and we can pool our resources. And, you are right. The weekend was a whirlwind and we needed a week instead of "two days". By the way, Chris and Bill came back today so Bill could show me where the TSB's are on the microfiche. Turns out they aren't there. So, he's going to look at more fiche when he gets home. And, he called me a "smart alec", although that may not have been quite the way he said it. He was talking about a part in the tilt wheel mechanism and I typed the number in, hit enter, and instantly had the illustration on the screen - after it had taken him minutes to find it on the microfiche.

Roger - I'll pull the harness for Dad's truck out tomorrow and see if it has the NSS connector. I'm thinking like you that the 81's didn't have it and the EVTM is right. But I'll find out.

Taden! I forgot. Sorry. But there weren't any such parts at the swap meet. And Jonathan and I didn't talk about it. I'll look tomorrow to see what I have. Jonathan - What will you have and when?

I've never seen a cracked valve. Burned ones, frequently. But not cracked.

As shown here, 9A is just "white": http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/exterior-paint-codes.html. On the turn signals and door locks, I agree with you - Ford wasn't going to throw anything away. So they appear to have consolidated the clear turn signals into the Twin Cities and Norfolk plants as they were the last to use them. And the slide door locks were consolidated into Kansas City and the Twin Cities plants.

Ok, some observations: At 1:15 I see that the front axles on 2wd trucks were originally red or orange and white, and the springs were yellow. At 5:45 I see that on 4wd models the TTB's are supposed to be yellow, the springs white, and the tie rods and shocks green. Good to know for restoration. At 3:53 that XLS sure is nice. (Note that I did NOT say "cute".) At 4:16 it says a 6.9 or 7.5L engine, which they'd earlier said required at least an F250 HD, can tow up to 10,000 lbs. And today my smooth-riding F150 w/a 3.5L can tow almost 12,000 lbs. 😳 At 8:35 it looks like they hired drunks to do the driving as that guy can't keep it out of the ruts! At 11:04 we see that the XLT replaced the Lariat in 1983. At 11:22 the HVAC controls changed for 1983. Hmmm, at 15:29 it say the tailgate on F250 and 350's can be easily removed. But that implies the one on the F150 can't be - and they are the same part numbers. 😳 More later.......

So, what color did the paint turn out to be? As for what I've found, it depends on what you mean by "advertised". The 1981 literature shows the door locks in both slide and pin versions. But, it shows the turn signals as being amber. However, as shown on the door lock page, the 1981 trucks came with both slide and pin locks, and with both clear and amber turn signals.

Sorry guys, I guess I need to remember to try my own links before trusting that they work. Try this: That one works. Thanks, I'll give it a look.

Apparently I'm not pushing the right button as I'm not finding the video. I get 5 home tricks or a list of other videos, but haven't found the Ford one. Can you help me?

Your thoughts about the Pony were almost exactly those of the other parts guy - Bill. Apparently they were cheap but very light duty. So, you are going back stock with 2wd, 302 w/EFI, and AOD. Should be a good cruiser and return decent MPG. I'm ready to arm-chair enjoy. 👍

Thanks! I'll give it a try.

Now that's a novel idea - finishing a rock. 😈

Yep, that's where the switch was on Dad's C6, but now I'm wondering if the truck only used the backup light portion thereof. Man, that's awful about your friend. My father taught me a healthy respect for vehicles being lifted off the ground, so I am extremely careful. But after seeing that maybe I need to step it up another notch. 🙈

Is Master Series like POR in that it isn't auV stable and needs to be top-coated? If so, what is the timeframe in which you can do that, and with what? And, why is it better than POR? I'm just trying to learn?